LEAP Conference 2009 - this Saturday, 25th April

The LEAP Conference 'Capitalism Isn't Working' takes place this Saturday, 25th April at Birkbeck College, Malet Street, London (map here, nearest tube: Russell Square).

A full agenda is available to download. The day begins with an opening address by LEAP Chair John McDonnell MP, author of Another World is Possible, and also Chair of the LRC and Socialist Campaign Group of Labour MPs.

From there we move into the morning plenary - a panel discussion Who Pays for the Crisis? with panellists including:

• Penny Cole (co-author of Running a Temperature - an action plan for the eco-crisis)
• Rahila Gupta from Southall Black Sisters (author of Enslaved - The New British Slavery)
• Professor Richard Wilkinson (co-author of The Spirit Level)
• Matt Wrack (General Secretary of the FBU).

After a break for lunch, in which there is a free fringe with Richard Wilkinson, about his pioneering research on inequality for The Spirit Level - why more equal societies almost always do better, we break into four sub-plenary workshops:

1. Resisting the Recession & Defending Jobs will be facilitated by Professor Gregor Gall and Jerry Jones (author of Halting the Decline of Britain's Manufacturing Industry) and will look at the industrial agenda during the recession. Download the LEAP Factsheet for this session.


2. Where's our bailout? will be facilitated by Andrew Fisher (LEAP Co-ordinator) and Colin Hampton (National Unemployed Centres Combine). Download the LEAP Factsheet for this session.


3. What to do with the City? will be facilitated by John Christensen (Tax Justice Network), and Gerry Gold (co-author of A House of Cards - From Fantasy Finance to Global Crash). Download the LEAP Factsheet for this session.


4. Neoliberalism Isn't Working - fighting the ideological battle, facilitated by Paul Feldman (co-author of A House of Cards - From Fantasy Finance to Global Crash) and social psychologist Rosamund Stock. Download the Factsheet for this session.

Then it's the final plenary session - a panel discussion on The Economy We Want & How to Get There, with panelists including:

• Bob Crow (RMT General Secretary)
• John Hilary (War on Want)
• John McDonnell MP (LEAP Chair)
• Graham Turner (author of The Credit Crunch)

Then we start fighting for it, maybe via the pub first . . . hope to see everyone there on Saturday.

p.s. I recommend two very good articles in Friday's Morning Star - one's my own: 'Devil in the Detail' and the other by Gregor Gall 'How to fart and chew gum', both analyses of this week's Budget.